Traditionally, swim fins are adapted to provide propulsion of the user in water. When wearing swim fins the user typically has difficulty walking on hard surfaces, land, the beach or a boat because of the size, shape and flexibility of the swim fin.
The prior art addresses issues relating to propulsion in water as seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,601. The patent describes a swim fin with a web portion pivoted upon a foot receiving portion. The web moves from a walking position to a swimming position by rotating the web under the foot of the user so that it may be placed on the back of the leg of the user. The web requires a positive pivot stop to prevent the web from rotating upward beyond the swimming position. The foot receiving portion has a tapered nose protrusion that cooperates with a latch mechanism on the web. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,259 describes a swim fin having a swimming or walking mode wherein the fin has two parts hingedly engaged by a joint assembly for movement from a locked walking position to a locked swimming position. The web pivots below the foot from the swimming position to the back of the leg for the walking position.
It is desired to have a swim fin that has a foot portion and a pivotally mounted web portion for movement into a first position for walking and a second position for propulsion in water.